EIFF 2025: Low Rider
Campbell X's long-awaited second feature lands with a disappointing thud. This queer road movie set in South Africa suffers from irritating characters, cliché-riddled dialogue, and simplistic politics
When her mother dies, Quinn (Emma McDonald) leaves London for Cape Town in search of the father whom she's only seen in photographs. Her old man proves elusive, however, and she ends up in the company of Harley (Thishiwe Ziqubu), a mysterious stranger she meets in a club in Cape Town, and the only person who's foolish (or enamoured) enough to join Quinn’s wild goose chase. Quinn’s road trip thus turns into a search for her true self amidst the identities – mixed race, immigrant, queer – that have been foisted on her. Her bond with Harley proves the film’s emotional core.
Unfortunately, Low Rider grates with its simplistic characterisation, cliché-riddled dialogue, and a plot where twists are substitutes for meaningful development and thematic exploration. The script, by Stephen Strachan and Campbell X (from a story by the latter, who also directs), is most at fault; it is unclear whether we're meant to actively dislike these characters or if the writers don't know how to portray conflict and uncertainty without diving into petulance. Quinn quickly becomes an irritating figure who is easier to root against than root for, and McDonald’s performance never goes beyond the surface level.
Furthermore, the complicated sociopolitical history of South Africa in relation to gender, race, class and queerness is paid lip service; plot reveals only occur to give a character something to react to based on their personal experience, not the wider world and the legacy of colonialism and apartheid. With no tangible cultural connection to either of Quinn’s homes, Low Rider could be set anywhere.
Low Rider had its world premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival